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November 05, 2012

South Korea Hopes Gangnam Style will Boost nation's economy

The viral global success of South Korean pop singer Psy's "Gangnam Style" video stems from the "three C's" -- a combination of virtues that Seoul's finance minister says can spur the country's traditionally sleepy service sector.

"Cooperation, competition and creativity -- these three Cs are the factors of Gangnam Style's success," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said.

The intricate group dances in "Gangnam Style" required cooperation, success in the K-pop scene was the result of fierce competition, and the whole process reflected great creativity, Bahk told Reuters in the Mexican capital.

Psy's song "Gangnam Style," which mocks the consumerism of a rich Seoul suburb and features a horse-riding-style dance, went viral on video-sharing website YouTube.

It has been viewed more than 530 million times on YouTube since it was released in mid-July -- inspiring scores of horse dance tributes and parodies around the world.

Bahk said he hopes South Korea, an industrial powerhouse whose films, TV soap operas and pop music have found a wide world audience in the past decade, can coax another C from the "Gangnam Style" phenomenon -- competitiveness in the service industry.

"Korea traditionally has had strong competitiveness in the manufacturing sector, but very weak competitiveness in the service industry," he said.

"Gangnam style gives us hope for the service industry's competitiveness."